The British Softball Federation
Executive has announced new dates for its League Heads Forum and AGM in early 2013. But the Executive is still unable to make a final decision on whether the 2013 Co-ed National Championships will be a combined tournament with all grades of play, including the Premier Nationals.
The League Heads Forum, previously announced for Saturday, 19 January, will now take place on Sunday, 13 January in the Pavilion at Birmingham City University's Moor Lane Sports Ground in Sutton Coldfield.
The 2013 BSF AGM, previously announced for Sunday, 24 February, will now take place on Saturday, 23 February at St Thomas's Church on Langley Road in Watford, site of the 2011 AGM.
Meanwhile, although a poll taken by the BSF showed a majority in favour of holding all Co-ed National Championships together on the same weekend in 2013, the Executive is still unable to make a decision on whether this will happen until a date and venue for this tournament can be confirmed.
Nationals poll
An email sent by the BSF to League Heads and 2012 Co-ed Nationals participants on the question of whether to hold all grades of Co-ed Nationals together in 2013 or keep the Premier Nationals separate elicited 20 responses.
At the heart of the question was the issue of NSL players who play in the Premier Nationals also being able to play for their midweek league teams at other grades, which would no longer be possible if all the Nationals were held together.
The result was a narrow margin in favour of a Co-ed Nationals where all grades play at the same venue on the same weekend, with the opportunity for the BSF to devote resources to making this tournament a pinnacle event both on and off the field.
A number of those who were against the proposal because of the effect it might have on their own team nevertheless expressed a willingness to go along with it for the good of the sport.
However, a separate issue has arisen which is affecting the BSF's ability to make a final decision.
Date and venue
The date on which the BSF planned to hold the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Nationals next year (to which the Premier Nationals would be added) was the weekend of August 10-11. But for various reasons, it will be impossible to hold all of the Co-ed Nationals on that weekend. So the BSF is now exploring three options:
1) Holding all of the Co-ed Nationals together on the weekend of August 31-September 1, the date originally reserved for the Premier Nationals, at Farnham Park. But this will depend on the whole park being available, which is probably unlikely because football takes over most of the grounds around this time.
2) Holding all of the Co-ed Nationals together on the weekend of August 17-18 at Farnham Park. The main issue is whether other tournaments already scheduled on this weekend can move to to August 10-11 instead.
3) Keeping the Premier Nationals and the other Co-ed Nationals separate for one more year, with the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Nationals on August 10-11 and the Premier Nationals on the dedicated pitches at Farnham Park, which BSUK controls all year round, on August 31-September 1.
The BSF hopes make a decision as soon as possible.
Other National issues
Meanwhile, a number of other issues apart from the question of whether to combine all the Co-ed Nationals were raised by those who responded to the BSF email, and the Executive feels that many of these merit further consideration:
-- If all of the Co-ed Nationals are combined, should the number of grades be reduced?
-- What is the relationship between Nationals grades and the A-B-C or Comp-Rec gradings used at most tournaments?
-- Can the criteria for qualification to Co-ed Nationals be clarified and made more consistent? Could it be based on tournament play as well as or instead of on league placings?
-- What is the appropriate number of Nationals places at each grade?
-- If the Nationals are combined, can league teams that lose players to the Premier Nationals get dispensations to replace them?
-- If the Nationals are combined, can scheduling be done to ensure that players can watch competition in other grades, and especially the Premier Final?
The BSF plans to form a subcommittee consisting of Executive members and players from across the grades to consider these issues and bring proposals to the League Heads Forum and possibly to the AGM.